Development of a Superconductor-Based Thermostatic Switch for Space Missions****

该项目旨在开发一种新型的恒温开关，专门用于月球任务的无人航天器，并适用于广泛的空间任务。空间和月球环境的低温性质需要电子开关，这种开关由航天器经历的温度变化被动控制。这一技术要求对空间飞行任务来说是一个普遍的挑战，特别是在减少有效载荷大小和减少飞行任务成本方面。加拿大航空航天公司是一家专门从事空间任务开发和中小型航天器所用技术研发的航空航天公司。我们的项目目标是设计和演示一种在规定温度下(在-130摄氏度到-150摄氏度范围内)工作的原型开关。我们的方法是利用铜氧化物超导体的高温和可调的超导转变温度，并建立一个基于超导抗磁的机电开关装置。如果开发成功，这种新型的恒温开关可以由Candensys公司商业化，成为航天工业的一种利基产品，对整个航天任务具有关键的技术好处。

This Engage project is aimed at the development of a novel type of thermostatic switch, dedicated for use in unmanned spacecraft for lunar missions and applicable in a wide range of space missions. The cryogenic nature of space and lunar environments requires electronic switching that is passively controlled by the varying temperature experienced by the spacecraft. This technical requirement is a prevalent challenge for space missions, particularly in terms of reducing payload size and thus mission cost. Canadensys Aerospace Corporation is an aerospace company specializing in space mission development and in the R&D of technologies used in small-to-medium sized spacecraft. Our project goal is the design and demonstration of a prototype switch that operates at prescribed temperatures (in the range of -130C to -150C). Our approach is to exploit the high and tunable superconducting transition temperatures of copper-oxide superconductors, and build an electromechanical switching device based the superconducting diamagnetism. If successfully developed, this novel type of thermostatic switch can be commercialized by Canadensys into a niche product for the space industry, with crucial technological benefits for space missions in general.************